Nobody's Perfect
by BitterEloquence
Summary: In the dark of the night, Ororo finds comfort in the routine of an unlikely friend and confidant in Kurt Wagner


Author's Notes: Okay....this is my first real foray into fanfiction in over four years so I beg you to be patient with me as I dust off my Muses. Though this is movie based, I am mingling in a few facts from the comics that I will address to people who are completely confused. One being that according to the Gods of Marvel, when Kurt 'bamfs' the air pops from being displaced and it leaves behind the smell of brimstone, a fact that he gets teased on mercilessly. And two, that back in Africa, Ororo was worshiped as a Goddess if you will because of her powers to control the weather. Now mind you it's been a long while since I read over those particular parts in Storm's history but it's my own personal opinions that she being "Pagan" would not see eye to eye with Kurt on the Christian God and thus the sparks between them about such issues in the movie....hrmn....general spoiler alert for those who haven't been gifted with seeing the end of the X2 movie so read at thine own risk for thou hast been warned! On with the show!  
  
Nobody's Perfect  
  
Our Father, who art in heaven,  
  
It was night in the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngster's....few creatures stirred in the halls as shadows cloaked the finely paneled hardwood hallway in its dark embrace. A soft breeze stirred the trees to whispering, their stretching branches scraping across windowpanes in places and sending spidery patterns across well-manicured lawns. From the outside, one would never think that something was amiss with this place...from those unaware of not only the truth of its occupants, one might think this was a cheerful and bright place to spend thy childhood years. But even in the bright light of noon, a shadow hung over the school, for death's reach cloaked all and touched even the smallest of lives with its far-reaching embrace.  
  
A funeral had been held for the late and great Dr. Jean Grey. Though no body had been recovered, an elegant cherry coffin had been lowered empty and filled with dispair into the dark soul of the earth, taking with it the joy of not one, but two men. Both grieved in their own separate ways, yet their grief was similar and equally deep. Where Logan shut himself off from the world, keeping all others at bay with a surly snarl that brought tears to even his precious Marie's eyes, Scott continued on in grim silence. He didn't smile anymore, the grieving sorrow in his eyes hidden effectively behind ruby quartz glasses and thus never letting anyone truly know what he was thinking or feeling these days. Both men carried on like walking androids, each going through the motions of living though neither truly felt the inclination to eat nor crawl out of bed.  
  
And it was slowly killing the spirit of the school, draining the sparkle from the campus and for many, only prolonging the grieving process. One Ororo Munroe was amongst that group. The silvered-haired Goddess tried to pick up slack left in Jean's tragic loss, her shoulders taking on too much burden as she threw herself into the work that would have kept two people busy instead of simply one mortal. Xavier had tried to talk to her just as he'd tried to reason with Scott and Logan, but all to no avail...God help him but he found himself surrounded by stubborn and strong minded people it was enough to make him pull his hair out if he had any left these days.  
  
Hallowed be thy Name.  
  
Midnight had come and gone, the grandfather clock's low sorrowful tones having long since faded into silence as the soft pitterpatter of footsteps carried its way down the hallway towards the study Ororo had set up as her own in an attempt to keep up with the double classload she was carrying now. She'd been grading papers the past three hours and though she heard the footsteps, she didn't look up from the quiz she was grading. She already knew what time it was and who it would be wandering to her door at such an ungodly hour of the night. The open window let the soft breeze slide through its panes, those feathered caresses of wind having once been a comforting friend to the weather-controling mutant but now it like so many other things having lost its ability to lift her spirits from the dark mire she found herself. in.  
  
At the soft scratching at the door, that silvered head rose in tired resignation to peer at the expensive wood absently for a moment. Her features had thinned in the past weeks, the tell-tale signs of bad eating habits and too few hours of rest bearing mark upon those elegant features as doe-dark eyes stared at the door in silence. He would not talk, would never ask for permission to enter as it was not his way. Gods help her, a part of her might even find amusement in the fact that he didn't even need to use the door if he wanted to see her. A soft sigh slipped past unpainted lips as she looked at the hardwood, putting off the inevitable before a soft shake of her head sent those short, feathered locks of hair dancing across mocoa skin. "Come in, Kurt....." Her voice rose in a quiet murmur that she knew would carry through the wood of the doorway and soon enough the latch clicked as a tri-fingered hand twisted the knob.  
  
Thy kingdom come.  
  
With a soft squeak of protestation from the hinges, the door swung open to admit the blue form of the German as he paused hesitantly there as he always did. It had become a nightly routine for them now, he appearing at her door at the same hour of the night bearing a silver tray laden with food and tea for her. He balanced the food with practiced ease now as he swung the door open with his free hand, those yellow eyes seeking hers from across the short distance of the study. He saw the heavy burden of pain that enveloped her like a cloak and it sent an answering twist to his own heart to see the thiness of her face and the shadow that never left her eyes as she stared back at him in silent acceptance. "Gutenabend, Meine Freund" He greeted as always as he broke from his frozen stance to carry the tray across the distance to set it down on a pre-cleared section of her desk. It was actually the only clear space on the entire surface of that cluttered space and his fingers absently straitened a stack of papers as that prehensile tail stretched back to wrap about the arm of a chair opposite Ororo and drew it near so that he could seat himself.  
  
The German actually garnered a weak smile from Storm as he set the food down on her desk, one icy brow rising as the enticing scents of food mingled with strong tea in a tempting aroma that awakened her stomach with a grumble. She silently set the paper aside and reached for one of the mugs that sat on the tray, those elegant fingers cupping the delicate china with graceful ease as she set it down in front of her. Without asking she poured he and herself a cup of the steaming liquid in a comfortable silence. A single lump of sugar was added to her own and she wrinkled her nose a bit in disdain as Kurt himself added four to his own with an unrepentant grin for he knew how disgusted she was with his overly sweet tea.  
  
"Mine is blue you will note so we don't repeat the last mix up, no?" A note of amusement colored his German accented English as he tapped one rough nail gently against the mix-matched side of his own cup. A few nights before, Storm had accidently sipped from his own glass and had spit the offensive liquid out on accident all over third period's book reports much to her chagrin and Kurt made sure to never match their mugs since then. At his droll words, she rolled her eyes heavenward as if in expasperation though a ghost of a smile curved her lips as those elegant fingers delicately cradled her own milky-white cup.  
  
"Har, har...." She refused to rise to his bait and with the stiff properness of an English Aristocrat, she sipped daintily from her tea, an arch look in those velvety dark eyes and earning her a fanged grin from her companion as he settled more comfortably in his chair. "How is class coming along?" After Kurt's continual urging to want to help out, he'd taken on his own class of specialty children whose powers echoed his own unique ones in similar ways. He sought to offer them ways to channel their new-found powers and perhaps to shed some light on the often terrifying and unknown territory of their abilities as best he could.  
  
He was by far one of the odder sights wandering the school grounds but the children had taken to him with the simple, open-mindedness of childhood that was one of the true beauties in the universe.  
  
Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. "Wonderfully...they are good kids...." A faint smile quirked his lips as those feline eyes grew distant for a moment while his thoughts traveled back to the group he'd taken on. "We have our problems but we do our best and make do." Unthinking fingers rose to toy with the cross and rosary he always wore and as if drawing strength from his faith, his smile grew more certain and sure. Dark eyes fell to his fingers and the religious symbol with troubled thoughts, a faint frown knitting her brows as she looked away though she said nothing. Experience with Kurt had thought her that religion was something the two of them would not see eye to eye on and they'd both settled into a silent agreement to agree to disagree over the subject.  
  
"That's good to hear, for someone who's never taught before we're all hearing glowing reports from the students in your class...." Her lips did curl into a grin then, a light of mischief briefly glowing in her eyes and setting those velvety dark depths alight with warmth for a moment as they met Kurt's own golden hued orbs. "I suppose teaching acrobatics along with the rules of physics are helping a little, hmmn?"  
  
"Ach....found out again I fear, meine liebe Fräulein Sturm" His low laugh was a quiet purr as he leaned back in his chair with the lazy grace of a feline, his shoulders rising and falling in a small shrug. "But can you think of a better way to explain Newton's laws of gravity then by hands on experience?" His fanged smile was brash and ever gentle as his teasing amusement brought a sparkle to those golden orbs while he watched the silver-haired woman toy with her tea. "But...enough about me...you should eat...tis fine German cooking I bring to you tonight..."  
  
Give us this day our daily bread.  
  
A silvered brow arched further at his words and she picked the silver cover up from over the food to peer at it curiously. She found a bowl of slowly cooling soup and grilled cheese sandwhiches staring back at her before she looked to the blue German sharply only to be given another toothy grin. "Well...perhaps not fully German but it will do, hmmmn?" He waved one hand towards the plate in a subtle direction to eat, some of the humor fading from his eyes as he looked at her with growing seriousness. "You are not caring for yourself, Ororo...." His accent turned her name into an exotic twist of syllables that were oddly pleasing to the ears as his voice dropped to a low murmur. Normally lighthearted features clouded with a shimmer of concern as he looked at her in silent understanding, that long tail of his having found an uneasy perch about the leg of his chair. The triangular tip of that limb was twitching back and forth restlessly, a sure indicator that he was more upset then he let on with his gentle show of concern as those solemn eyes sought her own. She tried to avoid his gaze as she looked anywhere but at her blue companion, those silken strands of hair whispering across her face as she looked down. "Please....eat....you will do no good by hurting yourself this way...it...." He'd been about to say that it would not bring Jean back but he bit off his words before he uttered them. He hadn't known the brave red-head long, but he felt her loss as keenly as the others though his own regretful sorrow at loosing her would never come close to scratching the surface of the pain he knew Ororo and the others must have been feeling.  
  
The silver-haired storm mistress stared down at the food in silence for a long moment before one hand extended to pick the spoon up with tired resignation. "I know it's useless and silly, Kurt...I really do but I just can't help myself...." She confided softly after taking a few sips of the wholesome soup, her silverware having clinked softly against the bowl as she set the spoon to rest in it. "I'm trying to be strong and put on a good face for everyone but it's hard. Especially with Scott wandering around here like a zombie and Logan being even more of a loner then ever before...." Those pale mocoa fingers curled into a fist for a moment and as if in reaction to her tumultuous emotions, thunder echoed in the distance as the wind whipped through the trees in a sharp gust that sent the sheers and curtains behind Ororo dancing and shivering in its wake.  
  
"Nein...it's not foolish, Meine Freund...." A tri-fingered hand reached across the desk to lightly rest atop her wrist, the gentle pressure of his hands a comforting warmth as those sympathetic orbs sought her own. It was an awkward position he found himself in, half-standing in his seat as he sought to reach her across the desk but he made no protestation for she had finally begun to untrouble herself in his presence. She needed a friend...needed someone she could talk to now that she found herself without her own support group. Kurt knew that she and the professor both tried to comfort Scott and Logan as best they could and while Logan was not forthcoming with his troubled thoughts, Kurt had seen the shadows of pain and tears in Ororo's eyes when she'd emerged from Scott's room time after time. "And I know you don't think so but you have as much a right to grieve as Scott and Logan do....you too lost someone you love...."  
  
And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us.  
  
His words must have struck a cord within her because she looked up at him, a strangled gasp of pain catching in her throat as tears gathered like crystals in those doe-like eyes. For an instant, naked sorrow shown brightly in those velvety depths before her face crumpled and she looked away, unable to meet those gentle feline eyes as she choked back a mewling cry. Silently, Kurt slid from his seat to walk with feline grace around the desk to her side. Ororo made no protestations as he knelt in front of her on one knee, the fabric of his jacket whispering as his arms slid about her in a gentle embrace. Where she might have once forced him away with icy coldness, the weather Goddess found herself unable to do anything but lean into him as burning tears obscured her vision. She did not understand the softly uttered words whispered near her ear, the low guttural German words being murmured in a soothing manner that was universal. With a soft sigh, her own snow-clad arms slipped about his torso as she burrowed her face into surprisingly soft indigo hair as it curled along his neck where she nestled her suddenly flushed cheeks. Hot tears splashed across Kurt's skin as she melted into that comforting embrace and indeed she didn't even notice as she slipped from her chair to curl in an inelegant manner beside him on the floor in a tangle of legs and in Kurt's case, a tail. The entire time she cried, he cradled her in that gentle manner, the soft scent of his skin clinging to the faint woodsy tones mingled with an even fainter undertone of sulphur, no doubt a carry over of the brimstone smell that was created by his teleportation.  
  
Perhaps that was what eventually broke through her haze of sorrow as she curled in his arms, those flushed cheeks pressing into the warm crook of his shoulder as she sat there in dejection, the world just spining unheeded around her as she listened to the low steady stream of soft murmurs coming from the German. Her tears eventually dried, leaving her with a lighter feeling in her heart and soul as she sat there, fingers curling gently in the odd material of the jacket he still wore as the pair of them sat curling about one another amidst the paper-strewn floor of her study. She didn't remember a stack of quizzes falling but the soft cascade of papers across her floor definitely led one to that conclusion. Ororo leaned back a bit to rub at burning eyes as the last of her tears finally dried up, those subdued orbs failing to meet Kurt's as she tried to compose herself. She was shaken from her confusing jumble of thoughts only to be brought back by the unexpected sensation of a warm weight curling about her waist, the slow lazy caress of a triangle skimming back and forth along the small of her back alerting Ororo that somewhere along the way, that sneaky tail had curled about her slender waist to press soothingly into her skin. Her eyes flew down to that indigo limb and Kurt's own followed her's only to widen in shocked dismay at his faux pas and though it was hard to tell with the dark azure of his skin, but his cheeks grew heated with a flush as he unwound that seemingly offensive limb. "T...Traurig! Ich bedeutete keine Handlung!" He momentarily lost his mastery of the English language in his dismay and he jerked away from her as if guilty of being caught doing something he shouldn't have been doing. Those gently pointed ears wilted slightly at the tips as he crawled to his knees, his oddly-toed feet poised to heave himself to his feet if the storm mistress should take especial offence to his actions.  
  
But rather then be offended, Ororo found herself missing the oddly comforting warmth of that soft tail curling about her waist and she looked down at her hands as they curled in her lap, feathered strands of moongilt hair shifting across the elegant lines of her cheeks. "No....don't apologize...it's me who could apologize...."  
  
And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil.  
  
The German shook his head furiously, a troubled expression flitting across his features as they tightened almost in self-recrimination as he backed away, one hand toying nervously with the scarred rosary he carried with him, it's beads worn and dull with much handling. "Nein...nein...." His words were softly uttered before the tightness faded away, those faintly shadowed eyes seeking her own as a gentle smile rose to his lips. "Don't apologize....I am your friend and I will always be here for you when you need someone to talk to or simply just a shoulder to cry on if need be....." One hand dared to rise gently to touch her cheek, those oddly formed fingers a fleeting pressure against her skin before falling away as that soft smile continued to curve blue lips in that tender manner. For a moment, Ororo almost thought she could read something more in those oddly molten gold depths before that ever friendly manner settled about him once more. "Mein Gott was eine Verwirrung von Sachen, die wir gebildet haben" He muttered, obviously flustered as he reached about him to stack the papers together once more before he climbed to his feet; that tail swishing back and forth in an agitated manner. "There....as good as new now, hmmn?" One hand extended to help her to her feet and she rested her own in his clumsy fingers unflinchingly as she allowed herself to be helped to her feet. Kurt was still flustered and a bit out of sorts as he set the papers on her desk, carefully righting it and the other stacks. His nervous actions managed to drag a weak chuckle out of her and she touched the back of one hand gently, those restless fingers freezing at her touch as those slightly wide eyes flew to her own.  
  
"Kurt it's okay don't worry about it." She chuckled softly as she shook her head, icy strands of hair whispering across her shoulders as she raked a hand through those silken skeins. He glanced furtively at her from the corner of his eye, still a bit skittish as he danced out of reach to pick his own teacup up.  
  
"I've taken up enough of your time already. It's been a long day and I should go say my prayers before bed...." The delicate cup was cradled gently in his fingers as he looked at the food. "You will eat and try to sleep won't you....?" That concerned look creased his brows once more as he peered at her from beneath those indigo lashes and she offered a weak smile of acceptance. "Gut...gut...." He bowed from the waist in a genteel manner, a small ghost of mischief working its way back into his eyes as he smiled at her. "You know....though you cannot see her, Jean is still here with you..." He offered hesitantly as he set his chair back into place with his tail, those feline eyes sliding to look at her once more as he gestured with his free hand. "She is smiling down at you all from heaven...."  
  
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.  
  
Ororo frowned a bit at his words, her brows drawing together in a scowl of icy hair over those dark eyes as she looked at him in a slightly severe manner. "Kurt....I don't believe in things like that, I'm not Christian...." He waved one hand in a dismissive manner, a small smirk playfully curving his lips as he faced down her dark look with a grin of his own.  
  
"Yes well no one is perfect afterall...." Despite his playful quip, a gentle assurance glowed in his eyes as they met ironic dark ones. "Obwohl Sie nahe kommen, mein liebes Fräulein Sturm" He muttered under his breath with another self-recriminating smile and with a soft pop of air and a swirl of blue, Storm found herself with a brimstone scented office and a lack of a certain blue German elf. Ororo coughed softly, wrinkling her nose up as she summoned a soft breeze to whisk the offending smell away and she settled once more into her seat. Kurt's nightly visits were an odd comfort to her and she found to her surprise that she did feel worlds better having lay some of her turmoil bare on the understanding German's shoulders and it was with a musing expression on her face that she settled back in her chair once more.  
  
"What an odd....but dear man..." Came her quiet musings to herself as an odd smile curved her lips, dark eyes growing soft for a moment as she looked to the food left by Kurt. She toyed with her spoon while she stared off into a middle-distance, her thoughts momentarily captured by the odd German and the even odder position they'd found themselves in mere minutes before. She'd be lying to herself if she denied she had found herself comforted by his presence and that the way he uttered her name in that odd manner didn't capture her attention completely each time. Heh....actually if you ignored the blue skin and the odd limbs, he was rather....cute....too bad he was obsessively religious and Christian to boot. "....oh well....no one's perfect...."  
  
Amen.  
  
Translations: Gutenabend, Meine Freund- Good evening, my friend  
  
meine liebe Fräulein Sturm- my dear Lady Storm  
  
Nein- No  
  
mein Fraund- my friend  
  
Traurig! Ich bedeutete keine Handlung- Sorry! I meant no offence!  
  
Mein Gott was eine Verwirrung von Sachen, die wir gebildet haben- My God what a mess of things we've made  
  
Gut- Good  
  
Obwohl Sie nahe kommen, mein liebes Fräulein Sturm- Although you come close, my dear Lady Storm  
  
Sorry if anything is poorly translated, my German is little to none so blame it all on Google translator and not this foolish little fangirl!!! 


End file.
